It’s not even the campaign period and yet Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Mar Roxas made a major blunder when he greeted Zamboanga City residents who survived the September 8 siege by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) a “Happy Anniversary”.
Roxas’s Facebook post that came out at 8:28 a.m. on Sept. 8 read thus: “Hi fellow veterans of the Zamboanga siege, Happy anniversary. Just wanted to take a moment and reflect and thank you for your leadership and commitment to welfare of our people and country. Maraming salamat. Being with you all those 21 days has touched me indelibly. Know that our country stands strong and our flag flies high because of you and the men and women like you. We battle on. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas.”
The same message was edited at 8:42 a.m. with the “Happy Anniversary” greeting removed. But the damage was already done with Sta. Catalina barangay chairman Jimmy Villaflores, whose area was hard hit by the MNLF siege, calling it “crazy.”
The message, without the “Happy Anniversary” greeting, may sound normal if not a bit political. Owing perhaps to fatigue or plain carelessness, the former Interior and Local Government secretary inserted the phrase without thinking of the consequences.
It doesn’t help any that the brouhaha over the “Happy Anniversary” greeting coincided with the reported distribution of P500 bills that contained Roxas’s face in lieu of the late senator Benigno Aquino Jr., President Benigno Aquino III’s father, to reporters assigned at the Senate and Congress.
While it would be the height of incredulity (though not beyond the realm of possibility) to expect Roxas to sabotage himself by ordering the distribution of said fake P500 bills, Vice President Jejomar Binay’s quick denial of allegations pointing to him as being responsible shouldn’t be taken at face value.
Both Roxas and Binay are top contenders for the country’s presidency; but while Binay is a lot craftier, Roxas’s blunders speak volumes about the kind of character and attitude he has both as an official and as a person.
Roxas’s Sept. 8 Facebook post blunder echoes a similar backlash that befell his wife, broadcaster Korina Sanchez, who was quoted last year as saying that it’s better for typhoon Ruby to head toward Japan instead of the Philippines because the Japanese are better equipped to deal with emergencies than Filipinos.
This month’s floods experienced in Japan did show that the Japanese were better equipped to deal with calamities, and whether or not Sanchez’s comments are prophetic, it does not reflect well of her and her husband, who had become the butt of jokes and suspicion for his handling of the devastation caused by Supertyphoon Yolanda in 2013.
It’s still early, but at this stage, Roxas and his supporters should avoid the foot-in-their-mouths disease that would not only sully their reputation but could cost him the presidency as well.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
